Pail and lid assembly

ABSTRACT

A pail and lid with an integral handle molded with the lid includes a pail side wall extending upwardly from the pail bottom to an upper peripheral edge. The lid includes a cover portion shaped to cover the open top and a peripheral skirt depending from said cover portion, said skirt having an upper annular portion and a lower annular portion and both shaped to surround an outer surface of the pail side wall at or adjacent the upper edge and separated by a peripheral tear strip. The handle is integrally formed with said lower portion for carrying the pail. The skirt and pail have co-operating upper and lower pairs of retaining lips shaped to snap over each other by downward movement of the cover portion onto the pail to hold the cover portion on the pail. The skirt is sufficiently stiff to allow both snap actions to be effected simultaneously be pressure downwardly from the cover. The lower pair provide greater retaining force such that, prior to pulling the tear strip, co-operation of said lower retaining lip of the peripheral skirt and said lower retaining lip of the pail provides a strong force in maintaining the cover portion on the pail and such that, upon tearing, co-operation of said lower retaining lip of the peripheral skirt and said lower retaining lip of the pail substantially prevents upward vertical displacement of said lower portion and the handle thereon relative to said pail so that the handle can accept high loads.

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser.No. 09/707,230 filed Nov. 6, 2000.

[0002] This invention relates to a pail and lid assembly. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to a pail and lid assembly whereinthe lid has an integral handle for carrying the pail.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Pails made from polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylenehave been used for many years for the transportation and storage of awide variety of liquid and bulk solid materials. Once filled, thesepails are usually fitted with a lid to prevent spillage of the contentsand to prevent exposure of the contents to the external environment. Itis important that the lid be securely fitted on the pail until the userdesires to access the contents. It is also important that the user beable to remove the lid without undue effort and without the aid of anymechanical device or tool. Tear strips are commonly used to facilitateremoval of lids which are securely applied to containers.

[0004] Often pails are printed and/or labelled to provide informationconcerning their contents. Generally, the pails are printed before theyhave been filled, and labelled after they have been filled. When thecontents of the pail are date sensitive, it is particularly preferableto label the pails after they have been filled. The labels can then beprinted to indicate the date the contents were made or a “best before”date.

[0005] It is advantageous that pails have a handle to facilitate manuallifting and carrying. It is known to fit pails with molded plastichandles. An example of such a handle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.4,357,042 (Gall) issued Nov. 2, 1982. In that example, the handleassembly has a sleeve adapted to fit around the perimeter of the pailand abut against a shoulder adjacent its upper rim. A horizontal flangeextends outwardly from the lower edge of the sleeve and the handle isattached to opposite sides of the flange. The handle assembly isinstalled on the pail by placing the sleeve around the bottom of thepail and sliding the sleeve upwards until it abuts the shoulder.

[0006] Another example of this type of handle assembly is disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 4,387,922 (Geisinger) issued Jun. 14, 1983. The handleassembly disclosed in that patent has a continuous band which fitsaround the perimeter of the pail and abuts the upper rim of the pail.The handle is attached to opposite sides of the band. The handleassembly is applied to the pail by positioning it on top of the pail andapplying downward force causing the band to expand and snap over theupper rim of the container.

[0007] One of the drawbacks of this type of handle is that the handleassemblies must be produced separately from the pails and lids. Thehandle assemblies must be stored until they are ready to be installed onthe pails and that storage must be managed. Furthermore, theinstallation of the handles on the pails is an additional step in pailproduction which, in turn, reduces the efficiency of the process andthereby lowers productivity.

[0008] More commonly, it is known to use wire handles. These may bebutton or offset type wire handles whereby each end of the wire handleis inserted through a hole or into a standoff on opposed sides of thepail. In either case, the pail must be molded to account for theapplication of the wire handle. Wire handles are preferably attached tothe pails immediately after they have been molded and while the pailsare still warm.

[0009] There are numerous disadvantages inherent in the use of wirehandles. Firstly, the wire handles must be purchased by the pailproducer and the inventory of wire handles must be stored and managed.The installation of the wire handles on the pails is also time consumingand adds considerably to the cost of producing the pails. In addition,after the pails have been produced they are often nested so that theycan be stored and transported to the filler in the most efficient mannerpossible. The wire handles are problematic when the pails are de-nestedbecause they are prone to catch on the rims of the pails below. The wirehandles also cause difficulties during printing and labelling of thepails because they obstruct access to the pail side wall. Mechanismshave been developed to maintain the handles away from the side wall,however, such mechanisms add considerably to the expense andcomplication of both the printing and the labelling processes. Inaddition, the mechanisms are prone to mechanical failure which, in turn,reduces productivity.

[0010] Some attempts have been made to integrate the handle and the pailby molding them together. These attempts have been generallyunsuccessful and have been limited to small sized containers due todifficulties encountered during the molding process.

[0011] Thus there is a need for a pail and lid assembly whichincorporates a handle and which can be produced, stored, printed,labelled and filled without the disadvantages inherent in prior art pailand lid assemblies.

[0012] In U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,252 (Crisci) issued May 30, 1989 isdisclosed a construction of a bottle with a threaded cap on a neck ofthe bottle. The cap has a flexible depending skirt with a tear stripwhich can be torn around the neck to leave a collar on the bottle. Thecollar carries a loop shaped handle by which the bottle can be carried.There is no disclosure as to how the cap and skirt are attached to thebottle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0013] In the pail and lid assembly of the present invention, the lidincorporates a handle which, once the lid has been applied to the pail,is effective to carry the pail. The peripheral skirt of the lid has aretention band which is connected to the cover portion of the lid by aremovable tear strip. The lid is applied to the pail by the applicationof downward force on the lid which causes the skirt to expand and snapinto place over the upper extremity of the pail side wall. The retentionband is prevented from upwards and downwards displacement on the pail bythe co-operation of retaining means on the retention band and the pail.The handle is attached to the retention band. Prior to the removal ofthe tear strip, the retention band is effective to securely retain thelid on the pail and to anchor the handle to the pail. Once the tearstrip has been removed, the lid is no longer securely retained on thepail and can be manually removed. The retention band, however, remainseffective to anchor the handle to the pail and the handle can thuscontinue to be used for the remainder of the useful life of the pail.

[0014] The handle is molded integrally with the lid and thereby obviatesthe need for the separate production and installation of a pail handle.The handle is also molded in such a manner that when it is not in use,it lies in its resting position which is radially adjacent to theretention band. As a result, the handle does not obstruct access to thepail side wall during any printing or labelling which takes place afterthe lid has been applied to the pail.

[0015] Thus, in accordance with the present invention there is provideda container comprising:

[0016] a pail comprising:

[0017] a pail bottom;

[0018] a pail side wall extending upwardly from the pail bottom to anupper peripheral edge spaced from the bottom and defining inwardly ofthe peripheral edge an open top;

[0019] an upper outwardly facing retaining lip extending around the pailside wall at or adjacent the upper edge;

[0020] and a lower outwardly facing retaining lip disposed about thepail side wall below the upper outwardly facing retaining lip;

[0021] and a lid assembly for the pail comprising:

[0022] a cover portion shaped to cover the open top;

[0023] a peripheral skirt depending from said cover portion, said skirthaving an upper annular portion and a lower annular portion and bothshaped to surround an outer surface of the pail side wall at or adjacentthe upper edge;

[0024] an upper inwardly facing retaining lip extending around saidupper portion adapted to co-operate with said upper outwardly facingretaining lip of the side wall to retain said cover portion and saidupper portion on said pail;

[0025] a lower inwardly facing retaining lip extending around said lowerportion adapted to co-operate with said lower outwardly facing retaininglip of the side wall to retain said cover portion and said lower portionon said pail;

[0026] a handle integrally formed with said lower portion for carryingthe pail; and

[0027] and a tear strip connecting said upper portion to said lowerportion which is tearable around the peripheral skirt to separate thelower portion from the upper portion;

[0028] the upper retaining lip of the peripheral skirt being shaped tosnap over the upper retaining lip of the pail side wall by downwardmovement of the cover portion onto the pail to hold the cover portion onthe pail;

[0029] and the lower retaining lip of the peripheral skirt being shapedto snap over the lower retaining lip of the pail side wall by downwardmovement of the cover portion onto the pail to hold the cover portion onthe pail

[0030] such that, prior to detachment of said upper portion from saidlower portion, co-operation of said lower retaining lip of theperipheral skirt and said lower retaining lip of the pail assists inmaintaining the cover portion on the pail;

[0031] and such that, upon detachment of said upper portion from saidlower portion, co-operation of said lower retaining lip of theperipheral skirt and said lower retaining lip of the pail substantiallyprevents upward vertical displacement of said lower portion and thehandle thereon relative to said pail.

[0032] Preferably the upper and lower retaining lips are arranged suchthat both retaining lips of the lid assembly snap over the respectiveretaining lip of the pail side wall by downward movement of the coverportion substantially simultaneously.

[0033] Preferably the skirt including the tear strip is sufficientlystiff to cause the communication of forces from the cover portionthrough the skirt and the tear strip to cause the lower retaining lip ofthe lid assembly to snap over the lower retaining lip of the pail.

[0034] Preferably the retaining lips are arranged such that a pullingforce necessary to effect separation of the lower retaining lips isgreater than a force necessary to effect separation of the upperretaining lips.

[0035] Preferably pail side wall is tapered downwardly and inwardly fromthe top edge to the bottom to allow stacking of the pail inside anotheridentical pail, although other shapes of container pail portion can beused which do not allow stacking.

[0036] In the above shape, an inside surface of the pail side wall up toand including the top edge is tapered without any inwardly extendingprojections or ribs.

[0037] Preferably the lower retaining lip of the pail is formed on anoutside surface of a raised band on the outside of the side wall and theraised band includes a shoulder which abuts the lower portion to preventdropping of the lower portion on the pail when the tear strip isdisconnected. In this arrangement, there are provided a series of angledguide surfaces between the outside surface of the pail side wall and theraised band for guiding downward movement of lower portion of the skirt.

[0038] Preferably the upper retaining lip of each of the lid assemblyand the pail is formed by a single ring.

[0039] Generally the handle extends around the peripheral skirt from ahinge coupling at one side to a generally opposed hinge coupling at theother side where the handle is connected to the lower portion of theskirt at the hinge couplings. In addition, the handle may be attached tothe skirt at least at two additional points angularly spaced around theskirt, the additional points being frangible to allow the handle to berotated about the hinge couplings. These are provided to allow increasedflow of plastics material into the handle to ensure that no voids areallowed.

[0040] Preferably the handle follows the skirt at a substantiallyconstant distance from the skirt.

[0041] Preferably the handle is wider at a middle position spaced fromboth hinge couplings than the relatively narrow band forming theremainder of the handle so as provide a relatively wide strap which canbe laid onto the hand of the user.

[0042] The lid assembly may have an annular skirt extending downwardlyalong the inside surface of the side wall of the pail which has a loweredge for contacting the inside surface so as to form a seal therewith,or other sealing arrangements may be provided such as a gasket at thetop edge.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043]FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a pail and lid assembly according tothe present invention.

[0044]FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the pail and lid assembly ofFIG. 1 taken along the lines 2-2.

[0045]FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the pail and lid assembly ofFIG. 1 taken along the lines 3-3.

[0046]FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the pail and lid assembly ofFIG. 1 taken along the lines 4-4.

[0047]FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the lid with the handle inposition for use.

[0048]FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the lid showing the lead endof the tear strip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0049] The pail and lid assembly of the present invention includes apail component 12 and a lid 30. The pail 12 has a beam ring 14 whichextends circumferentially around the top of the pail near its upperedge. Beam ring 14 has upper portion 16 which extends outwardly anddownwardly from pail 12 and lower portion 18 which is vertical. Aplurality of evenly spaced beam ribs 20 are disposed on the underside ofbeam ring 14 and connect pail side wall 22 to the inwardly facingsurface of beam ring 14. Side wall 22 may be tapered or cylindrical.Tapering of side wall 22 from top to bottom facilitates nesting of aplurality of empty pails. Top opening 24 and bottom surface 26 aregenerally circular.

[0050] Beam ring type pails are well known in the container industry.The beam ring provides structural reinforcement to the top of the pailand prevents inward collapse of the pail opening. This, in turn, permitsthe thickness of the side walls to be reduced relative to the side wallthickness of conventional pails. Although a beam ring type pail has beendescribed, it should be understood that the present invention can beused with other types of pails. For instance, the invention can be usedwith pails which have an outwardly projecting rim at the top of the pailside wall and which are known by those in the art as “satellite ringpails” or “open head” pails. Also, the invention is not limited to pailshaving circular openings. For example, pails with oval, square,rectangular, or any other polygon or rounded shape can be used.

[0051] The lid 30 may incorporate any conventional sealing meansincluding, but not limited to, a gasket system, an internal flange orfriction fit. Lid may also incorporate any conventional form ofauxiliary opening in cover portion including, but not limited to, flexspouts, vents, threaded closures and tear-outs.

[0052] The pail and lid components are preferably made from polyethyleneor polypropylene. Other suitable polymeric materials can be useddepending on the nature of the materials to be contained.

[0053] Pail 12 and lid 30 are molded by injection molding or blowmolding in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. As indicatedabove, handle is molded integrally with lid. Once molded, pail 12 isfilled with its liquid or bulk solid contents and lid is placed overpail opening 24.

[0054] Turning now to the cross section shown in FIG. 2, the pail 12includes the pail bottom 26 and the pail side wall 22. The pail sidewall is inclined upwardly and outwardly to the top edge 23 and defines asmooth tapered inner surface which is free from inwardly projecting ribsor other obstructions which would interfere with the pail being stackedinside another pail. The outside surface of the side wall 22 is alsosmooth and frusto-conical up to the beam ring 14 which projectsoutwardly from the outside surface so that the stacking of two suchpails occurs such that the upper edge 23 sits underneath the bottom ofthe ribs 20 of the beam ring in the stacked position.

[0055] The beam ring 14 is defined by a horizontal top flange 35 whichprojects outwardly from the outer surface of the side wall to an outeredge 36. The beam ring 14 further includes a generally vertical wall 18which extends downwardly from the flange 35 to a bottom edge 40. Thegenerally vertical wall 18 is thus spaced outwardly from the side wall22 and forms an annular band surrounding the side wall of an increaseddiameter relative to the side wall.

[0056] The lid 30 includes a cover portion 38 and a surrounding skirt 29having a handle 31 which closely follows the curvature of a band 32defined by the lower portion of the skirt 29. Thus, where the pail 12and thus the cover 38 and skirt 29 are circular, the handle issemicircular, extending from the integral flexing hinge 33 at one end toan identical hinge 34 at the other end. The handle 31 is spacedequidistantly around its periphery from the outside surface of the band32.

[0057] In addition to the coupling between the band 32 and the handle atthe hinges 33 and 34, there may be also provided at least two additionalcouplings 75 and 76 in the form of tabs extending across the space 37between the band 32 and the handle 31. These couplings 75 and 76 act tohold the handle in a common plane with the band 32 when not in use. Inaddition these couplings 75 and 76, if provided, act to provide a flowpath for the plastics material during the injection molding of the lidstructure including the handle. Thus the plastics material in the moldenters through the center of the circular cover 38 of the lid and thenextends into the skirt and particularly the band 32 and finally passesthrough the coupling defined by the hinges 33 and 34 and the tabcoupling 75 and 76 into the handle to flow into that portion of the molddefining the handle. It is well known that a weak point of a structuresuch as the handle is formed at the interconnection where plastics flowfrom two different directions joins or welds to integrate the structure.Thus plastics material flowing through the couplings from the band 32into the handle meets primarily at the center section 39 of the handlesymmetrically between the hinges and between the couplings 75 and 736.The handle may be increased in volume at the center section 39 so thatas shown in FIG. 4 its depth in the vertical direction is increased thusforming a flat strap surface on the inside for engaging the hand of theuser. The thicker portion at the center section 39 thus has theadvantages of providing a wider surface for the hand of the user and inaddition provide an increased amount of plastics material at this pointthus overcoming the weaker section at the joiner by increasing thethickness at this point.

[0058] The hinge couplings 33 and 34 extend along a part of the band 32and are connected at an inner edge to the band 32. The hinge couplingsterminate at a position 33C where the handle commences and are integralwith a handle band portion 33A which extends around the band 32 spacedoutwardly therefrom as shown in FIG. 3. A V-groove 33B is provided inthe top of the band 33A adjacent each hinge coupling to act as a bendingpoint of the band 33A so it can take up a right angle position as shownin FIG. 5.

[0059] The center section 39 may also be modified to provide twoadditional wings extending from the center outwardly in an arcuate patharound the handle to increase the amount of material at the center andthus improve the welding action.

[0060] Underneath the flange 35 at the outer edge 36 is provided anannular shoulder 41 which is located outside the vertical wall 18 andunderneath the flange 35 against which the band 32 abuts. At the bottomedge 40 is provided a rib 42 which projects outwardly and thus providesa horizontal shoulder 43 on which the band 32 sits to prevent the band32 from dropping downwardly when the tear strip is torn away. Thisshoulder 43 can also be provided at the top of the beam ring tocooperate with an upper portion of the band 32.

[0061] The band 32 at its upper edge has an inwardly turned lip orprojection 32A which forms a retaining lip for co-operating with theflange 35. The shoulder 41 also defines with the outer edge 36 andoutwardly extending retaining lip 36A of the pail wall. Thus theretaining lips 32A and 36A co-operate in the closed position to locatethe lower band 32 in position on the side wall to hold the band in placeagainst upward vertical movement.

[0062] The lower band 32 in connected to an upper band 44 by the tearstrip 45. The upper band 44 includes and inwardly turned retaining lip44A which engages an outwardly turned retaining lip 23A at the upperedge 23. Thus the retaining lips 23A and 44A form an upper retainingelement surrounding the periphery of the pail for locating the skirt onthe pail. The retaining lip 44A can be continuous or intermittent andcan be designed to provide an amount of retention force sufficient forthe end use required.

[0063] It will be noted that the lip 23A provides a bottom surface whichis inclined upwardly and outwardly so that the force necessary to pullthe lip 44A over the lip 23A to remove the engagement therebetween isrelatively small. To the contrary the lips 32A and 36A provide buttingsurfaces at or close to right angles to the upward movement necessary toseparate those elements so that the force necessary to pull the lip 32Aover the lip 36A in the upward direction is significantly greater.

[0064] Underneath the lip 23A, the wall 22 has its outer surface 22Arecessed from the lip 23A and recessed relative to the outer edge 46 ofthe band 44 thus defining an open area underneath the lip 23A and abovethe flange 35. The upper surface of the flange 35 is horizontal. Atspaced positions around the periphery there may be provided a pluralityof inclined ramp surfaces 46 which connect the outside surface 22A tothe outer edge 36 of the flange 35. These act, if provided, as centeringelements so as to ramp the bottom edge of the band 32 into position whenthe band is applied onto the pail in a vertically downward movement asdescribed hereinafter.

[0065] From the lip 44A, the upper band 44 is inclined downwardly andoutwardly to a bottom edge 44B which is spaced outwardly from the outersurface 22A and spaced upwardly from the flange 35. Between the bottomedge 44B and the top edge 32B of the band 32 is provided the tear strip45. The thickness of the tear strip is reduced at the side edges of thetear strip that is at its connection with the edges 44B and 32B. Thetear strip 45 is inclined outwardly and downwardly from the edge 44B tothe edge 32B.

[0066] The skirt including the upper band 44, the tear strip 45 and thelower band 32 is shaped and arranged so that the lid can be applied ontothe pail by vertically downward movement onto the pail and by pressureapplied at the top of the skirt, that is at the junction between theskirt and the cover portion 38. Thus the skirt is stiff and allowsforces to be communicated from a point P downwardly through the skirt 29to the bottom edge of the lower band 32. In operation, therefore, withthe pail filled, the lid is applied onto the pail and the band 32surrounds the edge 23 and is pushed downwardly around the outsidesurface 22A of the pail until the bottom edge of the lower band 32engages the ramps 46. These ramps 46 guide the lower edge of the band 32onto the outer edge 36 of the flange 35 so that the lower band 32 passesover the outer edge 36 and can be pushed downwardly. During thispressure at the point P, the skirt is sufficiently stiff to communicatethe necessary forces from the point P, through the skirt 29 into thelower band to force the lower band downwardly until the lip 32A sits ontop of the lip 36A. At this point the lip 44A sits on top of the lip23A. Further downward pressure at the point P therefore acts tosimultaneously snap the lip 32A over the lip 36A into the retainingengagement and also to force or snap the lip 44A over the lip 23A toprovide its retaining engagement.

[0067] The high retaining force of the lower retaining element definedby the lips 32A and 36A ensures that the lid remains in place on thepail until the tear strip 45 is pulled away.

[0068] The cover 38 is generally horizontal but includes a downwardlydepending surrounding skirt 38A which extends downwardly along theinside surface 22C of the pail side wall. The skirt 38A includes a lowerblade portion 38B which is inclined outwardly so as to provide pressureagainst the inside surface 22C in a sealing action.

[0069] With the lid applied, the connecting tabs 75 and 76 can be brokensimply by manually grasping the handle section at the center portion 39and pulling upwardly. Thus the handle can be pulled upwardly, as shownin FIG. 5, to a position in which it extends generally verticallyupwardly from the hinges 33 and 34 so that the pail, lid and handle canbe manually carried by the user. The high retention force provided bythe aggressive action between the lips 32A and 36A insures that theweight of the pail and its contents is not sufficient to pull the handleand the lid from the beam ring 14.

[0070] When the user requires access to the contents, the tear strip 45is grasped at its molded end location or pull tab 45A (FIG. 6) and istorn around the skirt to separate the upper band 44 from the lower band32. The tearing action occurs at the thinner sections at the edges 32Band 44B.

[0071] When torn away, the lower band 32 remains in place and is fixedby the high retention forces underneath the lip 36A on the beam ring 14.The bottom edge 44B is exposed and spaced outwardly from the outsidesurface 22A and above the beam ring 14 so that it can be manuallygrasped by the fingers of the user. The relatively low retention forceat the upper retaining lips allows the upper band 44 and the coverportion to be pulled upwardly releasing the lid from the pail. The lidhowever can be replaced on the pail simply by pushing back onto the pailso that the snap action of the upper lips retains the upper band 44 inplace and the sealing skirt 38A in place around the upper part of theside wall of the pail.

[0072] Although the pail and the lid are preferably circular at the opentop of the pail, other shapes can also be used including oval andsquare. In a square pail, the corners will necessarily be relativelyrounded to avoid sharp changes in direction which can generate highforces at the junction. In a square pail arrangement, the hinges of thehandle are located at the corners and the handle generally follows theoutside surface of the pail so that it is also generally rectangularproviding a manually graspable section at the corner in between thehinges.

[0073] The pails can conveniently be nested. Two or more beam ribs mayhave beam rib extensions (not shown) which are sized to maintainsufficient space between the pails necessary to avoid too close a fitand the associated difficulty in de-nesting.

[0074] The pail and lid assembly of the present invention provides anumber of important advantages to pail producers, printers andlabellers, fillers and end users. The production of the handle isintegrated with the production of the lid. Thus, the requirement for aseparate process to produce handles or the requirement for pailproducers to purchase wire handles is eliminated. The need to store andmanage a separate inventory of handles for application to the pails isalso eliminated. Further, there is no need to install handles on thepails. Because the integration of the handle on the lid does not addappreciably to the cost of producing the lid or to the efficiency of thelid production process, the production of the pail and lid assembly ofthe present invention is significantly simpler and less costly than theproduction of prior art assemblies.

[0075] As mentioned above, empty pails are often stored by nesting them.When wire-handled pails are nested, the handle of one pail often dropsbelow the top of the pail below. When the pails are separated, the wirehandle catches on the pail below. The pail and lid assembly of thepresent invention avoids this problem because no handles are applied tothe empty pails.

[0076] If printing and labelling take place before the lid is applied tothe pail, the pail and lid assembly of the present invention isadvantageous because there is no need to hold the handle away from theside wall of the pail. Similarly, in situations where the pails areprinted or labelled after the lid has been applied, the need to positionthe handle away from the side wall of the pail is eliminated. Thissignificantly improves the efficiency of the printing and labellingprocesses and obviates the need to provide mechanisms to retain thehandle away from the pail side wall, which mechanisms add to the costand complexity of the printing and labelling procedures. Numerousmodifications can be made to the pail and lid assembly described hereinwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as definedin the following claims.

1. A container comprising: a pail comprising: a pail bottom; a pail sidewall extending upwardly from the pail bottom to an upper peripheral edgespaced from the bottom and defining inwardly of the peripheral edge anopen top; an upper outwardly facing retaining lip extending around thepail side wall at or adjacent the upper edge; and a lower outwardlyfacing retaining lip disposed about the pail side wall below the upperoutwardly facing retaining lip; and a lid assembly for the pailcomprising: a cover portion shaped to cover the open top; a peripheralskirt depending from said cover portion, said skirt having an upperannular portion and a lower annular portion and both shaped to surroundan outer surface of the pail side wall at or adjacent the upper edge; anupper inwardly facing retaining lip extending around said upper portionadapted to co-operate with said upper outwardly facing retaining lip ofthe side wall to retain said cover portion and said upper portion onsaid pail; a lower inwardly facing retaining lip extending around saidlower portion adapted to co-operate with said lower outwardly facingretaining lip of the side wall to retain said cover portion and saidlower portion on said pail; a handle integrally formed with said lowerportion for carrying the pail; and a tear strip connecting said upperportion to said lower portion which is tearable around the peripheralskirt to separate the lower portion from the upper portion; the upperretaining lip of the peripheral skirt being shaped to snap over theupper retaining lip of the pail side wall by downward movement of thecover portion onto the pail to hold the cover portion on the pail; andthe lower retaining lip of the peripheral skirt being shaped to snapover the lower retaining lip of the pail side wall by downward movementof the cover portion onto the pail to hold the cover portion on the pailsuch that, prior to detachment of said upper portion from said lowerportion, co-operation of said lower retaining lip of the peripheralskirt and said lower retaining lip of the pail assists in maintainingthe cover portion on the pail; and such that, upon detachment of saidupper portion from said lower portion, co-operation of said lowerretaining lip of the peripheral skirt and said lower retaining lip ofthe pail substantially prevents upward vertical displacement of saidlower portion and the handle thereon relative to said pail.
 2. Thecontainer according to claim 1 wherein the upper and lower retaininglips are arranged such that both retaining lips of the lid assembly snapover the respective retaining lip of the pail side wall by downwardmovement of the cover portion substantially simultaneously.
 3. Thecontainer according to claim 1 wherein the skirt including the tearstrip is sufficiently stiff to cause the communication of forces fromthe cover portion through the skirt and the tear strip to cause thelower retaining lip of the lid assembly to snap over the lower retaininglip of the pail.
 4. The container according to claim 1 wherein theretaining lips are arranged such that a pulling force necessary toeffect separation of the lower retaining lips is greater than a forcenecessary to effect separation of the upper retaining lips.
 5. Thecontainer according to claim 1 wherein pail side wall is tapereddownwardly and inwardly from the top edge to the bottom to allowstacking of the pail inside another identical pail.
 6. The containeraccording to claim 1 wherein an inside surface of the pail side wall upto and including the top edge is tapered.
 7. The container according toclaim 1 wherein the lower retaining lip of the pail is formed on anoutside surface of a beam ring on the outside of the side wall.
 8. Thecontainer according to claim 7 wherein the bearing ring includes ashoulder which abuts the lower portion to prevent dropping of the lowerportion on the pail when the tear strip is disconnected.
 9. Thecontainer according to claim 7 wherein there are provided a series ofangled guide surfaces between the outside surface of the pail side walland the raised band for guiding downward movement of lower portion ofthe skirt.
 10. The container according to claim 1 wherein the upperretaining lip of each of the lid assembly and the pail is formed by asingle ring.
 11. The container according to claim 1 wherein the handleextends around the peripheral skirt from a hinge coupling at one side toa generally opposed hinge coupling at the other side and wherein thehandle is connected to the lower portion of the skirt at the hingecouplings and at least at two additional points angularly spaced aroundthe skirt, the additional points being frangible to allow the handle tobe rotated about the hinge couplings.
 12. The container according toclaim 11 wherein the handle follows the skirt at a substantiallyconstant distance from the skirt.
 13. The container according to claim11 wherein the handle is wider at a center position spaced from bothhinge couplings.
 14. The container according to claim 1 wherein the lidassembly has an annular skirt extending downwardly along the insidesurface of the side wall of the pail which has a lower edge forcontacting the inside surface so as to form a seal therewith.